Twilight: Kingdom Hearts Style
by MihealandMail4ever
Summary: Namine Hikari didn't want to move in with her father. She didn't want to go to Twilight Town High. Can anything change her mind?
1. First Sight

Author's ramblings: I decided to do this story for my Namine-chan, and her Roxas-kun. It's a gift for the two of them. I stepped out of my comfort zone since I really don't like Twilight all that much.

Characters are as follows:

Carlisle-Cloud Esme-Tifa Jasper-Riku Alice-Xion

Emmett-Axel Rosalie-Kairi Edward-Roxas Bella-Namine

Jacob-Sora Mike-Tidus Tyler-Wakka Jessica-Selphie

Eric-Pence Angela-Olette Ben-Hayner Billy-Leon

Charlie-Vantias Renee-Larxene James-Seifer Victoria-Fuu

Laurent-Rai

I know most of the characters will be OOC but i tried to make them as accurate as possible. I'm not familar with Vanitas's character as much because I havent played Birth By Sleep yet.

My mother drove me to the airport with all the windows down and the air-conditioning on. It was always sunny and warm in Radiant Garden. Which was how it partly got it's name. Today, the temperature was around 75 degrees.

in another world from mine was Twilight Town, it rained almost everyday and had constant cloud cover. I was re-locating to there for one reason and one reason only; Marriage. My mom had got remarried and was traveling to Destiny Islands to be with her new husband. I would've gone with her but they would be constantly traveling. So I opted to move in with my dad Vanitas.

"Namine, you don't have to do this." My mom said looking over at me.

"I want to though." I lied smiling at her to make it more believeable.

"Tell Vanitas I said hello."

"I will."

"I'll see you soon." She promised "You can come home whenever you want-I'll come back as soon as you need me."

"It'll be great Mom, I love you."

"I love you too sweetie." She hugged me tightly once, then I had to get on the plane and she disappeared from sight when we took off.

It was a four hour flight from Radiant Garden to Twilight Town. It was already raining when the plane touched down. I didn't see this as an omen, just an unaviodable part of my new life.

Vanitas was waiting for me in the police cruiser in the airport parking lot. He was the police chief of the small town. This was the primary reason behind me buying a car despite the scarce amount of money I had. Nothing stops traffic and causes people to stare like a cop.

Vanitas gave me a awkward one-armed hug when I stumbled down the stairs and off the plane. It was acoompanied by a smile.

"It's good to see you again Namine. How's Larxene?"

"Mom's good, It's great to see you Dad."

"I know how much you hate riding in the police cruiser so I found a car for you, really cheap." he said once we were in the car.

"What kind of car?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well, techinally its a truck, a Chevy. Do you remember Squall Leonheart?"

"No."

"He used to go fishing with us during the summer." He prompted. I shoke my head again. I had blocked most of my memories concerning Twilight Town summers.

"Anyway, he's in a wheelchair so he can't use the truck so he offered to sell it to me."

"What year is it?" I asked and his expression changed instantly. I could tell that was the question that he didn't want me to ask.

"Well...Leon's done a lot of work on the engine so it's only a few years old really."

"Dad..." I said warningly

"He bought it in 1984, brand new."

"So how cheap is cheap?" I asked. This was one point I couldn't negotiate. I only had so much money.

"I alreadly bought it for you, a welcoming gift." He said embarassed.

"Wow...Thanks Dad."

"You're welcome." He smiled again.

It was all small talk from there to the house. There wasn't much to talk about, just the weather...which I hated so it pretty much killed the conversation. It was beautiful outside the window, I'll admit that but everything was just too green.

Eventually we made it to Vanitas's house. He still lived in the small two bedroom that My mom and him had bought in the early days of their marriage.

Parked in front of the house was the truck that we had been talking about. It looked solid and had one of those frames that seemed to hold up even in the worst accidents. The color was nice too, it was a rusty red.

"Wow Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Tommorow raised from dreadful to only horrible now that I had my own form of transportation.

"I'm glad." He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarassed again.

It only took me one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got my old bedroom back. It was in the west part of the house so I would be able to see the sunset from my window. This room had belonged to me since I was born. It hadn't changed much. A bed replaced the crib and a desk with a computer were added.

The house only had one bathroom which I would have to share with Vanitas. I tried not to dwell too much on that fact as I was putting all my necessities in there.

The best thing about living with Vanitas so far was that he didn't hover in my room while i unpacked. This feat would've been impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, I didn't have to act happy and cheerful. I was free to stare out the window at the rain and let a few tears escape. I knew it was the beginning, I would be crying more when night-time came.

Twilight Town High had a total of 400 students spread across 4 grades. This was smaller than back home. My junior class alone had 700 kids. It made it so much worse because most if not all of the kids grew up together. I would be a complete outsider. A curiousity, a freak.

I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the wind mixed with the rain across the roof sounded so annoying. I pulled my quilt and pillow over my head but didn't fall asleep until after midnight when the rain slowed down.

Fog was all I could see when I woke up the next morning. It made me feel slightly claustrophobic. I felt like there was a cage around me because I couldn't see the sky.

After Vanitas left for work, I walked around the house and took in my surroundings. On the mantle above the fireplace in the living room were a row of pictures. The first one was my parent's wedding. The next one was of the three of us, hours after I was born. Then a line of my school pictures up until last year.

I finished breakfast and went to find the school. It wasn't hard, it was like everything else in the town, just take a turn off the highway. It was a cluster of buildings that made it hard to determine that it was a school. The sign was the only reason I knew that it was a school at all.

I parked my truck in front of the first building. There was a small sign over the door that read **front office**. No-one else had parked here so I was pretty sure that it wasn't allowed but I needed directions.

Inside the building, it was brightly lit and warm. A welcome change to outside. The waiting area had a few chairs that had seen better days. The room was cut in half by a long counter. There were 3 desks behind it, the first of which was occupied a brown haired woman in a pink T-shirt.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"I'm Namine Hikari." I informed her walking up to the counter. Instantly there was an awareness in her eyes. I expected this but still had to bite back a groan.

"Of course." She smiled and dug through the papers on her desk. She handed me three sheets of paper.

"Here's your schedule, a map of the school and a slip that all your teachers need to sign."

"Thank you." I turned and walked away.

"Have a good day!" She called after me while the door swung shut between us.

When I got back to my truck, there were more cars pulling into the lot. I circled around the school and followed the line of traffic to a student parking lot. I was relieved to notice that most of the cars were older like mine. The only one that stood was a shiny silver Volvo that looked only about a year old.

I memorized the map in the truck so I wouldn't have to have it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bad and swung it over my shoulder.

_'I can do this.'_ I thought to myself in encouragement. It didn't do much good, I exhaled and stepped out of the truck. I kept my hood up and my head down as I hurried towards the building where I had my first class. Luckily I didn't bump into anyone.

Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square above the door. I felt my breath creeping towards hyperventilation as I appraoched the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two kids in.

The classroom was fairly small. The two people in front stopped just inside of the doorand hung their raincoats on hooks that lined the one wall. They were both brunette pale girls.

The teacher sent me to an empty desk after he handed me a reading list and signed my slip. The list was fairly easy and I had read most of the books on it already. My seat was in the back, this made it harder for the other kids to stare but they still managed somehow.

When the bell rang, an annoying nasally buzzing sound, The kid sitting next to me leaned over. He had black hair that was held back by a headband and baggy clothes. He looked like a wannabe rap star but I didn't say that.

"Namine Hikari right?" He asked

"Yes." I smiled at him

"Do you need help finding your next class?"

"A little bit..thanks."

"No problem, I'm Pence by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

We put on our jackets and walked outside to brave the elements. The rain had picked up slightly and the students were scrambling to get to their next class. Pence walked me all the way to the door of building six even though it was clearly marked.

"Good Luck." He said while we parted ways. I smiled back in thanks as the door swung shut between us. This and the rest of my morning classes seemed to fly by. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime.

I started to reconigize some faces after about 2 or 3 classes. There was a girl who sat next to me in Trig and Japanese. She walked with me to the cafeteria. She was cheerful brunette with brown eyes and wearing a yellow shirt and jeans. I forgot her name so I just nodded and smiled while she prattled on about teachers and students.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. The boy from English, Pence waved to me from across the room. It was there, sitting in the lunchroom trying to make conversation with strangers that I first saw _them._

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I was sitting as possible. They weren't talking and they weren't eating. Their food sat on trays in front of them. They also weren't gawking at me like the rest of the kids seemed to be so I was free to study them without meeting a pair of curious eyes.

They didn't look anything alike. There were three boys and two girls. The first boy looked wild. He had bright red hair which stood up in straight spikes. The second one looked calmer with shoulder-length silver hair. The third one was the one that caught my attention the most. He also had spiky hair but not as bad and it was blonde. The two girls looked semi-similar. One was tall and had auburn hair, while the other was short and had black hair. Their faces were almost identical though.

But none of them were looking at anything in particular. Not each other, not the other students. This peaked my attention. While I watched, the small girl with the black hair stood up and dumped her tray and then glided through the back door.

"Who are they?" I asked the girl from Japanese class. She looked up to see who I meant when the blonde one looked up at us. His eyes held hers for a second before they turned on me.

"That's Axel and Roxas Strife, Riku and Kairi Lockhart. The one missing is Xion Strife. They all live together with Dr. Strife and his wife Tifa." She said and I finally remembered her name, It was Selphie.

"They're very...nice looking." I said biting my lip, it was a huge understatement.

"Yes!" Selphie agreed with a giggle. "They're all together though. Axel and Kairi, Riku and Xion, and they all live together." Her voice held shock and condemnation.

"Which one's are the Strifes? They don't look related."

"They're not. Dr. Strife is really young. They're all adopted. The Lockharts are related though, brother and sister. Thats the red-haired girl and the silver-haired boy."

Throughout this conversation my eyes flicked around the table looking at the four of them.

"Have they always lived in Twilight Town?"

"No, they moved here from Traverse Town a few years ago."

One of the Strifes looked up at me, his gaze held curiousty. I looked away first this time and caught a flash of an expectation in his eyes that I failed to meet.

"Which one is the blonde?" I asked

"That's Roxas. He's gorgeous of course, but don't get your hopes up. He doesn't date, apparently the girls here aren't good enough." She sniffed and turned away.

I sat at lunch longer with Selphie and her friends then I would have if I had been sitting alone. One of my new aquaintances who reminded me her name was Olette had Biology with me next hour. We walked in silence to class, she was shy too.

There was only one open seat in the room. It was located next to Roxas Strife. I smiled at him nervously and began to walk towards him. When I got close, he went rigid in his seat. He stared at me with the strangest expression on his face, it was a mix of hostile and furious. I noticed that his eyes were the darkest color I had ever seen. I couldn't tell if they were blue or black.

The teacher started a lecture on cellular anatomy. This was both good and bad. I had already heard the lecture so I knew most of the material. This unfortunately left my mind free to wander elsewhere and wonder about things, like the look that Roxas had given me.

I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. He was leaning as far away from as possible. He had a look of disgust on his face like he was smelling something horrible. I sniffed my hair once, it smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. I let my hair fall over my shoulder which created a curtain between us.

This class seemed to pass the slowest. I didn't know whether that was because I was waiting for Roxas to relax or because the school day was almost over. The bell rang finally, Roxas shot out of his seat and was out the door before I had time to close my notebook. I stared after him with a blank look on my face.

"Aren't you Namine Hikari?" A male voice asked. I turned and came face to face with a smiling brunette.

"Yes."

"I'm Tidus."

"Hello Tidus."

"Do you need help finding your next class?"

"I'm heading to gym actually. I think I can find it."

"That's my next class too." He smiled again and we walked outside together.

"So did you stab Roxas Strife with a pencil or something?I've never seen him act like that." Tidus asked as we made our way inside the gym.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?"

"Yeah, he looked like he was in pain."

"I don't know, I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy, if I was lucky enough to sit next to you, I would've talked to you."

I watched volleyball games going on all around me. The coach had found me a uniform but didn't make me dress today. I was thankful for that. P.E. was mandatory here, all 4 years of highschool. Twilight Town was literally hell on earth for me.

The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. It had stopped raining but the wind was blowing strongly which made it just as cold outside.

When I walked into the office, I almost turned around again and walked back out again.

Roxas Strife stood at the counter in front of me. I reconigized his spiky blonde hair. He didn't seem to notice me though. I pressed myself against the wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.

He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He wanted to switch his Biology class to another time, any other time. If that didn't work, he tried to take a different science.

The door opened again and the cold wind gusted through the office. It rustled the papers and whipped my hair around my face. Roxas's back stiffened and he turned slowly to glare at me. He was absurdly handsome, his eyes were hate-filled and piercing. I felt a chill of genuine fear that chilled me to the bone.

"Nevermind then." He said hasitily in a voice like velvet. "I can see it's impossible." He spun on his heel and walked past me, out the door.

I walked to the desk and handed the lady my slip. My face was even paler than usual but I doubt she noticed.

"How was your first day dear?" she asked maternally.

"Okay." I lied and walked outside to my truck.

I sat there for a long time, staring out the windshield and thinking about my first day at Twilight High. I blinked rapidly trying to keep the tears away. Eventually, It got too cold so I started for Vanitas's house.


	2. Open Book

The next day was better...and worse.

It was better because it wasn't raining yet, though the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Tidus came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class. This caused Pence to glare at him the whole time. People didn't look at me quite as much as yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch which included Tidus, Pence and Selphie. I began to feel like I was treading water instead of drowning in it.

It was worse because I was tired, I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because the teacher called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I didn't have the right answer to his question. It was miserable because I had to play Volleyball, and the one time that I didn't duck out of the way of the ball, I hit one of my teammates in the head with it. And it worse because Roxas Strife wasn't in school.

All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing that bizzare glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think that I would actually go through with it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the Terminator.

But when I walked into the cafeteria with Selphie, I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table but he was nowhere to be seen.

Tidus intercepted us at the door and steered us to his table. Selphie seemed elated by this attention and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable waiting for the moment that he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came and prove my suspicions false.

I walked into Biology with more confidence when he hadn't showed up by the end of lunch. Tidus walked me to class, I held my breath when we walked through the door but Roxas Strife was nowhere to be seen. I exhaled in relief and walked to my seat. Tidus followed suit and went to sit by a girl in the back of the room.

I was relieved that I had the desk to myself, that Roxas was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't here. It was ridiculous but I couldn't stop worrying.

When the final bell rang, I walked swiftly to my truck. I dug through my bag to make sure that I had everything that I needed.

Last night I'd discovered that Vanitas couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon. So I requested that I be assigned kitchen duty. He didn't mind, and I was going shopping for food since I discovered that he had none in the house.

As I backed out of my parking spot, I caught sight of the Strifes and Lockharts. They were getting into the silver Volvo. Of course, they had both looks and money. But it didn't seem that it had bought them any acceptance here.

They looked up as my noisy truck passed them, just like everyone else had. I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I was off school grounds.

I fell back into shopping easily. I had done most of it since I was old enough. The store was big enough that I couldn't hear the rain on the roof so I could easily forget that I was in Twilight Town.

When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries stuffing them in wherever I could find an open spot. I hoped Vantias wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven. I covered a steak in marinade and put it the Fridge.

I decided to read Wuthering Heights-the novel we were studying in English- again for the fun of it. Thats what I was doing when Vanitas came home. I'd lost track of time and hurried into the kitchen to take the potatoes out and put the steak in.

"Namine?" Vanitas called out when he heard me on the stairs.

"Welcome home Dad."

"Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and jacket while I was bustled around the kitchen finishing up dinner.

"What's for dinner?" He asked curiously.

"Steak and Potatoes."

He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing so he went into the living room to watch TV. This made us both more comfortable. I called him in when dinner was ready. He sniffed appreciatively when he walked into the room.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable, neither of us was bothered by the quiet. This was one of the reasons that we were suited to live together.

"So how was school? Have you made any friends?"

"Well I have a few classes with a girl named Selphie. I sit with her and her friends at lunch. There's also this boy named Tidus who seems really friendly."

"That's good."

"Do you know the Strife family?" I asked hesitantly.

"Dr. Strife's family? Sure, Dr. Strife is a great man."

"They...the kids...are a little different. They don't seem to fit in at school."

Vanitas suprised me by looking angry at this point. He was scowling deeply.

"People in this town," He muttered darkly. "Dr. Strife is a brillant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the money that he does." His voice got louder. "We're lucky to have him, lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community."

"They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed that they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive." I stammered.

"You should see the doctor," He laughed. "It's a good thing that he's happily married. A lot of nurses have trouble concentrating when he's around."

After dinner and dishes, I trudged upstairs to do my Math homework. I hated Math with a passion. Especially Trig, it was so complicated.

The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to reconigize if not name almost all the students at school.

Roxas Strife didn't come back to school. I waited anxiously until the rest of the family entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join in on the lunchtime chatter.

My first weekend in Twilight Town passed without incident. The rain was soft over the weekend so I was able to catch up on sleep.

People greeted me in the parking lot on Monday. I didn't know all their names but I waved back and smiled at everyone. It was colder this morning but thankfully not raining.

All in all, i was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would. More comfortable than I ever expected to actually.

When Tidus and I walked out of English, the air was full of swirling bits of white. I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. I was not one of them.

"It's snowing!" Tidus shouted. I nearly groaned.

"Ew." I muttered

"Don't you like snow?"

"No."

Tidus laughed, and then a big ball of wet snow smacked him in the back of the head. We both turned to see where it had come from. I had my money on Pence who was walking away from us in the wrong direction for his next class. Tidus seemed to have the same thought and began scooping together his own snowball.

"I'll see you at lunch okay?" I retreated inside after I saw him nod.

I walked alertly with Selphie to the cafeteria after Japanese. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use if necessary as a shield. Selphie thought it was hilarious but something stopped her from throwing one at me.

Tidus caught up with us as we walked in the door. Selphie and him started talking animatedly about the snow as we got in line for lunch. I glanced toward the table in the corner out of habit and froze. There were 5 people sitting there.

"I'm just gonna get a soda today." I stated stepping out of line. They nodded but watched me with concern.

When we sat down, I permitted myself one look over at the Strife table to see if he was glaring at me, but none of them were even looking in my direction.

They were laughing, Roxas, Riku and Axel had their hair saturated with snow. Kairi and Xion were leaning away as Axel shook his dripping hair towards them. They were enjoying the snow like everyone else.

"Namine, what are you staring at?" Selphie asked, her eyes following my gaze.

"Nothing." I dropped my eyes back down to the table.

"Roxas Strife is staring at you." She giggled in my ear.

"He doesn't look angry does he?"

"No." She gave me a confused look

"Stop looking!" I hissed. She snickered but turned to talk to Tidus.

For the rest of the lunch hour I every carefully kept my gaze on my own table. I decided to honor the agreement I made with myself. Since Roxas didn't look angry, I would go to Biology.

Once inside the classroom, I saw that my table was still empty. This relieved me. The teacher was walking around the room to distribute microscopes and a box of slides to each table.

I heard very clearly when the chair next to mine was pulled back. I pointedly ignored it and kept my eyes on the table.

"Hello." said a quiet musicial voice.

I looked up, stunned that he was talking to me. He was sitting as far away from as the table would allow but his chair was angled towards me.

"My name is Roxas Strife," He continued. "I didn't get a chance to properly introduce myself last week. You must be Namine Hikari."

"H-How do you know my name?" I stammered.

" I think everyone knows your name. The whole town was waiting for you to arrive." He laughed.

"Oh.." I groaned and blushed.

Thankfully class started then so I was saved from further emabarassment. The teacher explained the lab. We had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the four stages of mitosis. We had the entire class period to do so, no books were allowed though.

"Ladies first." Roxas said, I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him.

"Or I could start..." He trailed off, the smile vanishing.

"No," I flushed red. "I'll go ahead."

I had already done this lab at my old school so I knew what I was looking for. I picked a slide and examined it briefly on the microscope.

"Prophase." I said confidently.

He nodded and picked up the next slide. Our hands went for it at the same time and when our skin touched I noticed two things. His hand was ice-cold like he had been holding his hands in a snowdrift before class. The second was the electric current that passed through him to me. This caused me to pull away quickly.

He put the slide under the microscope and clicked it a few times. "Anaphase." He declared smiling again.

"Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.

He handed it to me, it seemed like he was being extra careful not to touch my skin again.

"Interphase." I declared reaplacing it in the box.

The next two slides went the same way. We took turns and were finished before anyone else was close. I noticed that Tidus and his partner even had their book open under the table.

I was bored now that I had nothing else to do. I tried my hardest not to stare at Roxas. I wasn't very sucessful though. I glanced up and he was staring at me. I identified a subtle difference in his face.

"Did you get contacts?" I blurted without thinking.

"No." He looked puzzled by my sudden question.

"Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."

He shrugged and looked out the window.

I was sure that there was something different about his eyes. I remembered the dark blue shade that they were before. But now they were almost the same shade as mine. A bright blue, like the sky.

The teacher came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. I showed him the completed lab and he stared at it intently to check the answers.

"Roxas, don't you think Namine should've had a turn with the microscope?"

"She did, in fact she identified three out of the five. "

He stared at me skeptically for a minute and then turned to check on other group's papers. I began to doodle in my notebook after he left.

"It's too bad about the snow huh?" Roxas asked.

"Not really." I answered honestly.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.

"Or the wet." I added.

"Twilight Town must be a hard place for you to live then."

"You have no idea." I muttered darkly.

"Why did you come here then?"

"It's...complicated."

"I think I can keep up."

"My mother got remarried."

"When did that happen?" He sounded sympathetic.

"September."

"You don't like him?"

"No, He's okay, young but good."

"Okay, now I'm confused."

"He travels alot for work. My mom stayed with me at first but she missed him. It made her unhappy."

"So she sent you here so she could travel with him." Roxas guessed.

"No, I sent myself. I wanted her to be happy so I came to spend some quality time with Vanitas."

"But now you're unhappy." He pointed out

"And?"

"That just doesnt seem fair to me is all." he shrugged.

"Hasn't anyone told you that life isn't fair?"

"I believe I have heard that somewhere before."

"Well that's the story." I insisted, wondering why he was looking at me so intensly.

His gaze changed and became appraising. "You put on a good show," He said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than people see."

I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him like a five year old. I settled for a grimace and turned back to my notebook.

"Are you annoyed with me?" He sounded amused.

"Not exactly, I'm more annoyed with myself. My face is so easy to read. My mom calls me her open book." I frowned

"I find you very difficult to read." I could tell that he meant it.

"You must be a good reader then."

"Usually."

The bell rang then, cutting off any further conversation. Roxas rushed out of class just as quickly and gracefully as he had last Monday. I stared after him also like last Monday. Tidus came up to my table.

"Strife seemed friendlier today." He stated

"Yeah, I wonder what was with him last week."

"Who knows?" We walked to the gym together.

Tidus was on my team for Volleyball today. He played next to me and covered both of our spots with ease. This left me free to muse about what happened in Biology.

The rain was just a mist when I walked out to my truck. I was still happier when I was in the dry cab. I turned it on and let the heater run. I unzipped my jacket and pulled my hair out to let it dry.

I looked around to make sure it was clear. Thats when I saw the still, white figure of Roxas Strife. He was leaning against the front of his Volvo, which was three cars down from mine. He was also staring intently in my direction. I could swear he was laughing, about what I have no clue.


	3. Phenomenon

**This chapter is dedicated to my awesome reviewers Meandor711 and iinexpressible. Thank you so much guys :D**

When I opened my eyes the next morning, something was different.

It was the light, It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window. I jumped up to look out the window and groaned in horror. There was snow everywhere.

The worst part wasn't the snow though, it was the rain. All of it from yesterday had frozen solid and was covering the road. Driving was going to be a disaster today. It was probably safer for me to go back to bed now.

Vanitas had left for work by the time that I got downstairs, living with him was alot like having my own place. I made myself a quick bowl of cereal and jumped in the truck. I wanted to leave as early as possible so I could go as slow as possible. No need to get into an accident.

I was excited to go to school that morning for some odd reason. This scared me, because I knew why i wanted to be there so badly. It had nothing to do with anything that I was learning. It was entirely because I wanted to see Roxas Strife. This was very, very stupid.

My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice as I drove to school. I drove slowly regardless. I didn't want to carve a path of destruction on the way there. When i arrived, i saw why the truck had no problem. Vanitas must have got up early and put snow chains on the wheels.

The next thing happened seemed to happen in slow motion but at the same time I saw everything all at once. I looked up when i heard a screeching noise and caught sight of Roxas across the parkinhg lot. Then I saw it.

It was an out-of-control van that was sliding across the lot. I gasped and ducked and that was all I had time to do. I hit someting solid like marble and felt arms go around me. Then I was lying half a foot away from the back of my truck. I would have been crushed if i had still been in my original spot.

I looked up and came face to face with Roxas Strife. He was still holding me tightly and had his shoulders braced against the van, that was keeping it from smashing us. Then I heard the screaming of all the other kids around the lot. But I could hear Roxas's voice over theirs.

"Namine, Namine are you alright?"

"I'm fine." My voice sounded strange. I tried to sit up and realized he was holding me in an iron grip against his side.

"Be careful," He warned. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."

I became aware of a throbbing starting somewhere near my neck. But i pushed it away for now.

"How did you get over to me so fast?"

"I was standing right next to you."

I turned to sit up and, this time he let me, releasing his hold on my waist. Then he slid as far away from me as possible in the limited space.

"You were over there, by your car." I remembered

"No. I wasn't." His jaw was in a straight line.

"I saw you." I insisted.

"Trust me."

I could hear the sirens now. "Will you explain later?"

"Fine." He snapped, exasperated.

"Fine." I bit back.

The EMTs and gathered teachers moved the van away from us then. They had brought in stretchers. Roxas refused his, and I tried to do the same but he told them that I hit my head. They put the neck brace around me.

When we got to the hospital, everything was a flurry of activity. A nurse took my pulse and blood pressure. Then another person was brought into the bed next to mine. It was Wakka, from my History class.

"Namine, I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine Wakka but you look terrible, are you alright?"

He ignorned me. " I thought I was going to kill you. I was going too fast and hit the ice wrong." He winced as an alcohol wipe was applied to his cheek.

"Don't worry about it, you missed me.

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there and then you were gone."

"Roxas pulled me out of the way."

He looked confused at this. "Who?"

"Roxas Strife, he was standing next to me."

"Strife? I didn't see him...wow, it was all so fast. Is he okay?"

"I think so, he's here somewhere."

I turned over then to block out Wakka's mumblings and apologies. A few minutes later I heard someone else speak.

"Is she asleep?" My eyes flew open. Roxas was standing at the foot of my bed. He was smirking and I glared.

"Hey Roxas, I'm really sorry..."Wakka started. Roxas lifted a hand to stop him.

"No blood, no foul." He smiled and sat on the edge of Wakka's bed and faced me.

"How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like us?" I asked annoyed.

"It's all about who you know, but don't worry I came to spring you."

Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. He was young, blonde and handsomer than any movie star I had ever seen. He was pale though and tired-looking. This had to be Roxas's father. Dr. Cloud Strife.

"Well Miss Hikari, it seems like you were very lucky. You're free to go home since everything checks out.

"I was lucky that Roxas was so close to me."

"Yes, well..." He was suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. My intution flared, He was in on whatever Roxas was hiding. He walked away to talk to Wakka.

As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I walked over to Roxas.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." I hissed under my breath. He stepped away, his jaw clenched.

"Your father is waiting for you." He said through his teeth.

"I'd like to speak to you alone if you don't mind." I pressed.

He glared and then stormed off. I nearly had to run to keep up with him. He led us down a hallway and then turned into an empty waiting room.

"What do you want?" He nearly snarled.

"You owe me an explanation." I snapped.

"I saved your life, I owe you nothing."

"You promised."

"Namine, you hit your head. You didn't know what you were saying."

My temper flared. "There's nothing wrong with my head."

"Then do tell me what you think happened." There was a slight smirk on his face.

"All I know is that you were over by your car and then you were beside me. The van was going to crush us both but then you pushed it away.." I trailed off at the look on his face. It was a look of disbelief.

"You think I lifted a van off you?"

I nodded once, my jaw tight.

"No-ones going to believe that you know."

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

Surprise flitted across his face. "Then why does it matter?"

"I don't like to lie so there better be a good reason why I'm doing it is all."

"Can't you just thank me and get it over with?"

"Thank you." I was fuming.

"You're not going to let this go are you?"

"No."

"Well I hope you enjoy disappointment." He stormed out of the waiting room. I was trembling with with anger while I left as well.

Vanitas rushed to my side and hugged me tightly. "What did the doctor say?"He asked.

"Dr. Strife said I'm fine to go home." That was all I wanted to do right then.

"You'll need to call Larxene when we get there."

"You told Mom?" I was apalled.

"Sorry." He muttered.

My mom was hysterical of course and I had to tell her about 30 thirty times that I was okay before she was semi-calm. She begged me to come home and it was easier to resist than I thought. I was consumed by the mystery surrounding Roxas, and obessed with Roxas himself.

I decided to go to bed early that night. Vanitas had been nearly hovering over my shoulder all night and was annoying. I took some Tylenol before I went to bed and they helped ease the pain.

That was the first night that I dreamed of Roxas Strife.


End file.
